For all those of you who may not be able to afford a grinder:

The following is from the Nuclear War Survival Skill book by Cresson H. Kearny. It is a MUST have book people. Much of the advise is very apropos to a world where normal supply lines may not work for whatever reason. The book is not copyrighted. My comments are in square [ ] brackets.

EXPEDIANT PROCESSING OF GRAINS AND SOYBEANS

Whole-kernel grains or soybeans cannot be eaten in sufficient quantities to maintain vigor and health if merely boiled or parched. A little boiled whole-kernel wheat is a pleasant chewy breakfast cereal, but experimenters at Oak Ridge got sore tongues and loose bowels when they tried to eat enough boiled whole-kernel wheat to supply even half of their daily energy needs. Some pioneers, however, ate large quantities of whole-kernel wheat without harmful results after boiling and simmering it for many hours. Even the most primitive peoples who subsist primarily on grains grind or pound them into a meal or paste before cooking. (Rice is the only important exception.) Few Americans know how to process whole-kernel grains and soybeans (our largest food reserves) into meal. The ignorance could be fatal to survivors of a nuclear attack. [Or any other problem where normal food is not available.]

Making a expedient metate, the hollowed-out grind stone of Mexican Indians, provided impractical under simulated post-attack conditions. Pounding grain or beans into a meal with a rock or capped, solid-ended piece of pipe is extremely slow work. The best expedient means developed and field-tested for pounding grain or beans into meal and flour is an improvised 3-pipe grain mill. Instructions for making and using this effective grain pounding device follow.

IMPROVISED GRAIN MILL

The grain mill described can efficiently pound whole-grain wheat, corn, etc., into meal and flour - thereby greatly improving digestibility and avoiding the diarrhea and sore mouths that would result from eating large quantities of unground grain.

TO BUILD

(1) Cut 3 lengths of pipe, each 30 inches long; 3/4-inch-diameter steel pipe (such as ordinary water pipe) is best.

(2) Cut the working ends of the pipe off squarely. Remove all roughness, leaving the full-wall thickness. Each working end should have the fill diameter of the pipe.

(3) In preparation for binding the three pieces of pipe together into a firm bundle, encircle each piece of pipe with cushioning tape, string or cloth - in the locations illustrated. [Yet another use of duct tape] [Illustration show wrapping at 2 inches and 8 inches from the bottom and 2 inches from the top]

(4) Tape or otherwise bind the 3 pipes into a secure bundle so that their working ends are as even as possible and are in the same plane - resting evenly on a flat surface.

(5) Cut the top smoothly out of a large can. A 4-inch-diameter, 7-inch-high fruit-juice can is ideal. If you do not have a can, improvise something to keep the grain together while pounding it.

TO MAKE MEAL AND FLOUR

(1) Put clean, dry grain ONE INCH DEEP in the can.

(2) To prevent blistering you hands, wear gloves, or wrap cloth around the upper part of the bundle of pipes.

(3) Place the can (or open-ended cylinder) on a *hard*, *smooth*, *solid* surface, such as concrete.

(4) To pound grain, sit with the can held between you feet. Move the bundle of pipes straight up and down about 3 inches with a rapid stroke.

(5) If the can is 4 inches in diameter, in 4 minutes you should be able to pound 1/2 lb (one cup) of whole-kernel wheat into 1/5 lb of fine meal and flour and 3/10 lb of course meal and fine-cracked wheat.

(6) To separate the pounded grain into fine meal, flour, course meal, and fine cracked wheat, use a sieve made of window screen.

(7) To separate the flour for feeding small children, place some pounded grain in an 18 x 18-inch piece of fine nylon net, gather the edges of the net together so as to hold the grain, and shake the bag-like container.

(8) To make flour fine enough for babies, pound fine meal and course flour still finer, and sieve it through a piece of cheesecloth or similar material.

[End of Expedient Grinder section. My further comments follow.]

Let me say it again people, this is a MUST HAVE book. The thing is chock full of this kind of stuff to help you survive.

-Greybear

-- Got grain?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), July 11, 1999

Answers

Yes, it is, Greybear. Good catch.

There's a lot of good, practical, information -- in addition to such gems as digging your own fallout shelter, which is a nugget in itself.

It's also available on the net at Nuclear War Survival Skills for those who want to browse before they get their copy. This site also gives ordering instructions.

-- de (delewis@inetone.net), July 11, 1999.

Greybear, We've often had wheat for breakfast in winter. I just rinse it in a strainer. Then put it in a covered bowl of water overnight, and the next morning I cook it just like oatmeal, only longer, and eat it with vanilla soy milk. We like it chewy. And I also buy the cracked grain at the Mennonite store and make cereal from it too. Very tasty.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), July 11, 1999.

" Pounding grain or beans into a meal with a rock or capped, solid-ended piece of pipe is extremely slow work."

Two summers ago I took a week-long class in Yosemite learning how the local Indians used plants. One whole day was spent preparing acorn - cracking the shells, picking out the meats, winnowing out the skins, pounding, leeching, and finally cooking in baskets with heated stones. It was a GREAT experience. The actual pounding - sitting on a large rock (just happen to have a suitable one in my yard) with a pounding rock really went quite quickly. It was said that you could pound to fine flour quicker than you could use a grinder or blender. If you think things may be REAL bad for a LONG time, and if you have a lot of oak trees around you, check out "It Will Live Forever". Otherwise it is pretty bland stuff - but nutritious and free. (and you probably won't have to fight off those spikey-haired mutants trying to get at your acorn supply).

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), July 11, 1999.